OpenAI replaces five paid API tiers with three

Build, Launch and Grow link API limits to cumulative credit purchases.

Jordan Reid
October 6, 2026
Tools
1 min

Colored source code on a dark screen with shallow focus — Illustrative January 2018 photograph by Markus Spiske under CC0

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OpenAI simplified its paid API usage tiers on October 6, replacing five levels with Build, Launch and Grow.

The rate limit guide sets cumulative credit purchase thresholds of $5 for Build, $100 for Launch and $500 for Grow. Corresponding monthly usage ceilings are $500, $5,000 and $200,000.

Purchase thresholds determine eligibility. The monthly ceilings describe permitted usage, with API calls billed separately from those limits.

Organizations upgrade automatically as total credit purchases reach each threshold. Actual request and token limits depend on the model, with separate rules for long context and Ultrafast traffic.

Developers can review their current allowances under their organization’s Limits settings. The changelog confirms the new tier structure without documenting increases to every individual rate limit.

Illustrative January 2018 source code photograph by Markus Spiske, via Wikimedia Commons under CC0 1.0. Previously resized and converted to WebP. The photograph does not show OpenAI’s API dashboard or usage tiers.

Jordan Reid

Jordan Reid is focused on AI tools, agents, developer products, and the way technology changes everyday work. Jordan approaches a launch from the user’s side of the screen. What can it actually help someone finish? The voice is practical, conversational, and skeptical of products that turn a simple job into five new settings. Coverage follows coding assistants, creative software, browser agents, and the workflows around them, with attention to pricing, permissions, setup, and the human work that remains.